2008 SEC Baseball Tournament: Day Two Features More Upsets

One day after blowing a four run lead in the ninth, South Carolina took a 5-1 lead in the second inning and never looked back, eliminating the Florida Gators in the process.

Florida was able to tally the same amount of hits as the Gamecocks (10) but only three runners passed home plate. South Carolina carried a 6-3 lead in to the bottom of the eighth, but racked up five more runs to protect from another ninth inning rally, including a three run homerun by first baseman Justin Smoak.

The Gamecocks eliminated the Gators for the second straight year from the SEC Tournament. South Carolina advances to face Vanderbilt at 3:00PM today.

Game 2: (5) Alabama 5 (1) Georgia 2

Alabama pitching completely shutdown the Bulldogs to send the number one seed packing.

Austin Hyatt gave up a RBI double in the first inning, but bounced back to retire the Bulldogs in order from the second to the seventh inning.

Alabama scored three runs in the third inning to take a 4-1 lead before scoring an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. Georgia scored one run in the ninth, but could not get a rally going.

Georgia leaves the tournament without a win for the first time since 2002. It also marked only the second time the number one seed went 0-2, the first being the 1987 Georgia team.

Alabama advances for a rematch against Kentucky. The Wildcats won their first meeting in Game 4 of the opening round, 9-3.

Game 3: (2) LSU 8 (6) Vanderbilt 2

The Commodores took an early lead in the third on a solo homerun by Parker Hanks, but thanks to a sloppy defensive fourth for the Commodores, the Tigers took a 4-1 lead and never looked back.

The Tigers led of the fourth with a walk, followed by four base hits. Vanderbilt also committed two throwing errors at third, allowing the run to score both times.

The Tigers scored three more in the fifth to put the game out of reach.

The Tigers have now won 18 straight, the longest win streak in college baseball. The Tigers have also won 14 straight SEC games, the most in school history. LSU will play the winner of Kentucky/Alabama on Saturday at 1:30PM. The Tigers will need one victory on Saturday, to advance to the championship game.

Game 4: (8) Ole Miss 8 (4) Kentucky 7

A bottom of the ninth line drive homerun sent the Ole Miss Rebels into the winner’s bracket early Friday morning.

Ole Miss jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the third, but Kentucky answered with three runs in the top of the fourth to tie the game. Ole Miss regained the lead in the bottom of the fourth without registering a hit. Zach Miller was walked and advanced to third on a bad pick-off attempt before scoring on a sacrifice fly.

Kentucky tied the game back up in the sixth on a Troy Frazier double. Kentucky regained the lead in the seventh, but Ole Miss answered back with a two-run homer in the seventh to take the 6-5 lead. Kentucky tied the game yet again at 6-6 in the eighth.

Kentucky took a 7-6 lead in the ninth, needing just three outs to end the game. The Ole Miss Rebels had other plans when a two run walk-off homerun was hit over the left field wall.

Ole Miss will play the winner of the Vanderbilt/South Carolina game on Saturday at 10:00AM. The Rebels will need one victory on Saturday, to advance to the championship game.